Method of manufacturing a trench transistor having a heavy body region

ABSTRACT

A trenched field effect transistor is provided that includes (a) a semiconductor substrate, (b) a trench extending a predetermined depth into the semiconductor substrate, (c) a pair of doped source junctions, positioned on opposite sides of the trench, (d) a doped heavy body positioned adjacent each source junction on the opposite side of the source junction from the trench, the deepest portion of the heavy body extending less deeply into said semiconductor substrate than the predetermined depth of the trench, and (e) a doped well surrounding the heavy body beneath the heavy body.

This application is a continuation and claims the benefit of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/927,788, filed Aug. 27, 2004, now U.S. Pat. No.7,148,111, which is a continuation and claims the benefit of U.S.application Ser. No. 10/347,254 filed Jan. 17, 2003 (now U.S. Pat. No.6,828,195), which is a continuation and claims the benefit of U.S.application Ser. No. 09/854,102, filed May 9, 2001, (now U.S. Pat. No.6,521,497), which is a divisional and claims the benefit of U.S.application Ser. No. 08/970,221, filed Nov. 14, 1997, (now U.S. Pat. No.6,429,481).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to field effect transistors, in particulartrench DMOS transistors, and methods of their manufacture.

Power field effect transistors, e.g., MOSFETs (metal oxide semiconductorfield effect transistors), are well known in the semiconductor industry.One type of MOSFET is a DMOS (double diffused metal oxide semiconductor)transistor. DMOS transistors typically include a substrate on which anepitaxial layer is grown, a doped source junction, a doped heavy body, adoped well of the same (p or n) doping as the heavy body, and a gateelectrode. In trenched DMOS transistors the gate electrode is a verticaltrench. The heavy body is typically diffused deeper than the bottom ofthe trench, to minimize electric field at the bottom corners of thetrench and thereby prevent avalanche breakdown from damaging the device.The trench is filled with conductive polysilicon, and the polysilicon isgenerally overetched, to assure that it is completely removed from thesurface surrounding the trench. This overetching generally leaves arecess between the top of the polysilicon and the surface of thesemiconductor substrate (i.e., the surface of the epitaxial layer). Thedepth of this recess must be carefully controlled so that it isshallower than the depth of the source junctions. If the recess isdeeper than the source junctions the source may miss the gate, resultingin high on-state resistance, high threshold, and potentially anon-functional transistor.

The source and drain junctions can be doped with either p-type or n-typedopants; in either case, the body will be doped with the oppositedopant, e.g., for n-type source and drain the body will be p-type. DMOStransistors in which the source and drain are doped with p-type carriersare referred to as “p-channel”. In p-channel DMOS transistors a negativevoltage applied to the transistor gate causes current flow from thesource region, through a channel region of the body, an accumulationregion of the epitaxial layer, and the substrate, to the drain region.Conversely, DMOS transistors, in which the source and drain are dopedwith n-type carriers, are referred to as “n-channel”. In n-channel DMOStransistors a positive voltage applied to the transistor gate causescurrent to flow from drain to source.

It is desirable that DMOS transistors have low source to drainresistance (Rds_(on)) when turned on and low parasitic capacitance. Thetransistor structure should also avoid “punchthrough”. Punchthroughoccurs when, upon application of a high drain to source voltage,depletion into the body region extends to the source region, forming anundesirable conductive path through the body region when the transistorshould be off. Finally, the transistor should have good “ruggedness”,i.e., a high activation current is needed to turn on the parasitictransistor that inherently exists in DMOS transistors.

Generally a large number of MOSFET cells are connected in parallelforming a single transistor. The cells may be arranged in a “closedcell” configuration, in which the trenches are laid out in a gridpattern and the cells are enclosed on all sides by trench walls.Alternatively, the cells may be arranged in an “open cell”configuration, in which the trenches are laid out in a “stripe” patternand the cells are only enclosed on two sides by trench walls. Electricfield termination techniques are used to terminate junctions (dopedregions) at the periphery (edges) of the silicon die on which thetransistors are formed. This tends to cause the breakdown voltage to behigher than it would otherwise be if controlled only by the features ofthe active transistor cells in the central portions of the die.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides field effect transistors that have anopen cell layout that provides good uniformity and high cell density andthat is readily scalable. Preferred trenched DMOS transistors exhibitlow Rds_(on), low parasitic capacitance, excellent reliability,resistance to avalanche breakdown degradation, and ruggedness. Preferreddevices also include a field termination that enhances resistance toavalanche breakdown. The invention also features a method of makingtrench DMOS transistors.

In one aspect, the invention features a trenched field effect transistorthat includes (a) a semiconductor substrate, (b) a trench extending apredetermined depth into the semiconductor substrate, (c) a pair ofdoped source junctions, positioned on opposite sides of the trench, (d)a doped heavy body positioned adjacent each source junction on theopposite side of the source junction from the trench, the deepestportion of the heavy body extending less deeply into said semiconductorsubstrate than the predetermined depth of the trench, and (e) a dopedwell surrounding the heavy body beneath the heavy body.

Preferred embodiments include one or more of the following features. Thedoped well has a substantially flat bottom. The depth of the heavy bodyregion relative to the depths of the well and the trench is selected sothat the peak electric field, when voltage is applied to the transistor,will be spaced from the trench. The doped well has a depth less than thepredetermined depth of the trench. The trench has rounded top and bottomcorners. There is an abrupt junction at the interface between the heavybody and the well, to cause the peak electric field, when voltage isapplied to the transistor, to occur in the area of the interface.

In another aspect, the invention features an array of transistor cells.The array includes (a) a semiconductor substrate, (b) a plurality ofgate-forming trenches arranged substantially parallel to each other andextending in a first direction, the space between adjacent trenchesdefining a contact area, each trench extending a predetermined depthinto said substrate, the predetermined depth being substantially thesame for all of said gate-forming trenches; (c) surrounding each trench,a pair of doped source junctions, positioned on opposite sides of thetrench and extending along the length of the trench, (d) positionedbetween each pair of gate-forming trenches, a doped heavy bodypositioned adjacent each source junction, the deepest portion of eachsaid heavy body extending less deeply into said semiconductor substratethan said predetermined depth of said trenches, (e) a doped wellsurrounding each heavy body beneath the heavy body; and (f) p+ and n+contacts disposed at the surface of the semiconductor substrate andarranged in alternation along the length of the contact area.

Preferred embodiments include one or more of the following features. Thefirst and second dopants both comprise boron. The first energy is fromabout 150 to 200 keV. The first dosage is from about 1E15 to 5E15 cm⁻².The second energy is from about 20 to 40 keV. The second dosage is fromabout 1E14 to 1E15 cm⁻².

In yet another aspect, the invention features a semiconductor die thatincludes (a) a plurality of DMOS transistor cells arranged in an arrayon a semiconductor substrate, each DMOS transistor cell including agate-forming trench, each of said gate-forming trenches having apredetermined depth, the depth of all of the gate-forming trenches beingsubstantially the same; and (b) surrounding the periphery of the array,a field termination structure that extends into the semiconductorsubstrate to a depth that is deeper than said predetermined depth ofsaid gate-forming trenches.

Preferred embodiments include one or more of the following features. Thefield termination structure includes a doped well. The field terminationstructure includes a termination trench. The field termination structureincludes a plurality of concentrically arranged termination trenches.Each of the DMOS transistor cells further comprises a doped heavy bodyand the doped heavy body extends into the semiconductor substrate to adepth than is less than the predetermined depth of the gate-formingtrenches.

The invention also features a method of making a heavy body structurefor a trenched DMOS transistor including (a) providing a semiconductorsubstrate; (b) implanting into a region of the substrate a first dopantat a first energy and dosage; and (c) subsequently implanting into saidregion a second dopant at a second energy and dosage, said second energyand dosage being relatively less than said first energy and dosage.

Preferred embodiments include one or more of the following features. Thefirst and second dopants both comprise boron. The first energy is fromabout 150 to 200 keV. The first dosage is from about 1E15 to 5E15. Thesecond energy is from about 20 to 40 keV. The second dosage is fromabout 1E14 to 1E15.

Additionally, the invention features a method of making a source for atrenched DMOS transistor including (a) providing a semiconductorsubstrate; (b) implanting into a region of the substrate a first dopantat a first energy and dosage; and (c) subsequently implanting into theregion a second dopant at a second energy and dosage, the second energyand dosage being relatively less than the first energy and dosage.

Preferred embodiments include one or more of the following features. Thefirst dopant comprises arsenic and the second dopant comprisesphosphorus. The first energy is from about 80 to 120 keV. The firstdosage is from about 5E15 to 1E16 cm⁻². The second energy is from about40 to 70 keV. The second dosage is from about 1E15 to 5E15 cm⁻². Theresulting depth of the source is from about 0.4 to 0.8 m the finishedDMOS transistor.

In another aspect, the invention features a method of manufacturing atrenched field effect transistor. The method includes (a) forming afield termination junction around the perimeter of a semiconductorsubstrate, (b) forming an epitaxial layer on the semiconductorsubstrate, (c) patterning and etching a plurality of trenches into theepitaxial layer; (d) depositing polysilicon to fill the trenches, (e)doping the polysilicon with a dopant of a first type, (f) patterning thesubstrate and implanting a dopant of a second, opposite type to form aplurality of wells interposed between adjacent trenches, (g) patterningthe substrate and implanting a dopant of the second type to form aplurality of second dopant type contact areas and a plurality of heavybodies positioned above the wells, each heavy body having an abruptjunction with the corresponding well, (h) patterning the substrate andimplanting a dopant of the first type to provide source regions andfirst dopant type contact areas; and (i) applying a dielectric to thesurface of the semiconductor substrate and patterning the dielectric toexpose electrical contact areas.

Other features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing detailed description, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a highly enlarged, schematic perspective cross-sectional viewshowing a portion of a cell array including a plurality of DMOStransistors according to one aspect of the invention. The source metallayer and a portion of the dielectric layer have been omitted to showthe underlying layers. FIGS. 1A and 1B are side cross-sectional views ofa single line of transistors from the array of FIG. 1, taken along linesA-A and B-B, respectively. In FIGS. 1A and 1B the source metal anddielectric layers are shown.

FIG. 2A is a highly enlarged schematic side cross-sectional view of asemiconductor die showing a portion of the cell array and the fieldtermination.

FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of another embodiment of asemiconductor die showing a portion of the cell array and the fieldtermination.

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram showing the photo mask sequence of a preferredprocess for forming a trench DMOS transistor of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4-4K are schematic side cross-sectional views showing theindividual steps of the process diagrammed in FIG. 3. The figure numbersfor the detailed views in FIGS. 4-4K are shown parenthetically under thecorresponding diagram boxes in FIG. 3.

FIGS. 5, 5A and 5B are spreading resistance profile graphs, reflectingthe dopant concentration at different regions of the transistor.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

A cell array 10, including a plurality of rows 12 of trenched DMOStransistors, is shown in FIG. 1. Cell array 10 has an open cellconfiguration, i.e., trenches 14 run in only one direction, rather thanforming a grid. Individual cells are formed by alternating n+ sourcecontacts 16 and p+ contacts 18 in rows 20 that run parallel to andbetween trenches 14. The configuration of the regions of each row thathave an n+ source contact are shown in cross-section in FIG. 1A, whilethe regions that have a p+ contact are shown in FIG. 1B.

As shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, each trenched DMOS transistor includes adoped n+ substrate (drain) layer 22, a more lightly doped n− epitaxiallayer 24, and a gate electrode 28. Gate electrode 28 comprises aconductive polysilicon that fills a trench 14. A gate oxide 26 coats thewalls of the trench and underlies the polysilicon. The top surface ofthe polysilicon is recessed from the surface 30 of the semiconductorsubstrate by a distance R (typically from about 0 to 0.4 μm). N+ dopedsource regions 32 a, 32 b are positioned one on each side of the trench14. A dielectric layer 35 covers the trench opening and the two sourceregions 32 a, 32 b. Extending between the source regions of adjacentcells is a p+ heavy body region 34 and, beneath it, a flat-bottomed p−well 36. In the areas of the cell array which have a n+contact 16, ashallow n+ doped contact region extends between the n+ source regions. Asource metal layer 38 covers the surface of the cell array.

The transistor shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B includes several features thatenhance the ruggedness of the transistor and its resistance to avalanchebreakdown degradation.

First, the depth of the p+ heavy body region 34 relative to the depthsof the trench 14 and the flat bottom of the p− well is selected so thatthe peak electric field when voltage is applied to the transistor willbe approximately halfway between adjacent trenches. The preferredrelative depths of the p+ heavy body, the p− well and the trench aredifferent for different device layouts. However, preferred relativedepths can be readily determined empirically (by observing the locationof peak electric field) or by finite element analysis.

Second, the bottom corners of the trench 14 are rounded (preferably, thetop corners are also rounded; this feature is not shown). Cornerrounding can be achieved using the process described in U.S. applicationSer. No. 08/959,197, filed on Oct. 28, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No.6,103,635. The rounded corners of the trench also tend to cause the peakelectric field to be moved away from the trench corners and towards acentral location between adjacent trenches.

Third, an abrupt junction at the interface between the p+ heavy body andthe p−well causes the peak electric field to occur in that area of theinterface. Avalanche multiplication initiates at the location of thepeak electric field, thus steering hot carriers away from the sensitivegate oxide and channel regions. As a result, this structure improvesreliability and avalanche ruggedness without sacrificing cell density asmuch as a deeper heavy body junction. This abrupt junction can beachieved by the double doping process that will be described below, orby other processes for forming abrupt junctions, many of which are knownin the semiconductor field.

Lastly, referring to FIG. 2A, the cell array is surrounded by a fieldtermination junction 40 which increases the breakdown voltage of thedevice and thaws avalanche current away from the cell array to theperiphery of the die. Field termination junction 40 is a deep p+ well,preferably from about 1 to 3 μm deep at its deepest point, that isdeeper than the p+ heavy body regions 34 in order to reduce the electricfield caused by the junction curvature. A preferred process for makingthe above-described transistors is shown as a flow diagram in FIG. 3,and the individual steps are shown schematically in FIGS. 4-4K. It isnoted that some steps that are conventional or do not requireillustration are described below but not shown in FIGS. 4-4K. Asindicated by the arrows in FIG. 3, and as will be discussed below, theorder of the steps shown in FIGS. 4-4K can be varied. Moreover, some ofthe steps shown in FIGS. 4-4K are optional, as will be discussed.

A semiconductor substrate is initially provided. Preferably, thesubstrate is a N++ Si substrate, having a standard thickness, e.g., 500μm, and a very low resistivity, e.g., 0.001 to 0.005 Ohm-cm. Anepitaxial layer is deposited onto this substrate, as is well known,preferably to a thickness of from about 4 to 10 μm. Preferably theresistivity of the epitaxial layer is from about 0.1 to 3.0 Ohm-cm.

Next, the field termination junction 40 is formed by the steps shown inFIGS. 4-4C. In FIG. 4, an oxide layer is formed on the surface of theepitaxial layer. Preferably, the thickness of the oxide is from about 5to 10 kÅ. Next, as shown in FIG. 4A, the oxide layer is patterned andetched to define a mask, and the p+ dopant is introduced to form thedeep p+ well field termination. A suitable dopant is boron, implanted atan energy of from about 40 to 100 keV and a dose of 1E14 (1×10⁴) to 1E16cm⁻². As shown in FIG. 4B, the p+ dopant is then driven further into thesubstrate, e.g., by diffusion, and a field oxide layer is formed overthe p+ junction. Preferably the oxide thickness is from about 4 to 10kÅ. Finally, the oxide (FIG. 4) over the active area of the substrate(the area where the cell array will be formed) is patterned and removedby any suitable etching process, leaving only the field oxide insuitable areas. This leaves the substrate ready for the following stepsthat will form the cell array.

It is noted that, as an alternative to steps 4-4C, a suitable fieldtermination structure can be formed using a ring-shaped trench whichsurrounds the periphery of the cell array and acts to lessen theelectric field and increase the resistance to avalanche breakdowndegradation. This trench field termination does not require a fieldoxide or deep p+ body junction to be effective. Consequently, it can beused to reduce the number of process steps. Using a trench ring (ormultiple concentric trench rings) to form a field termination isdescribed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,324, the full disclosure ofwhich is hereby incorporated herein by reference. Preferably, the trenchwould have substantially the same depth as the trenches in the cellarray.

The cell array is formed by the steps shown in FIGS. 4D-4K. First, aplurality of trenches are patterned and etched into the epitaxial layerof the substrate (FIG. 4D). Preferably, as noted above, the trenches areformed using the process U.S. application Ser. No. 08/959,197, filed onOct. 28, 1997, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,103,635, so that the upper and lowercorners of each trench will be smoothly rounded. As shown in FIG. 1 anddescribed above, the trenches are patterned to run in only onedirection, defined as an open cell structure. After trench formation, agate oxide layer is formed on the trench walls, as is well known in thesemiconductor field. Preferably the gate oxide has a thickness of fromabout 100 to 800 ÿ.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4E, polysilicon is deposited to fill the trenchand cover the surface of the substrate, generally to a thickness of fromabout 1 to 2 μm depending on the trench width (shown by the dotted linesin FIG. 4E). This layer is then planarized by the nature of itsthickness relative to the trench width, typically from about 2 to 5 kÅ(indicated by solid lines in FIG. 4E). The polysilicon is then doped ton-type, e.g., by conventional POCL₃ doping or by phosphorus implant. Thebackside of the wafer need not be stripped (as is conventionally doneprior to doping the polysilicon to enhance defect gettering) because anyfurther doping of the highly doped substrate would be unlikely to resultin any enhancement in defect gettering.

The polysilicon is then patterned with a photoresist mask and etched toremove it from the trench areas, as shown in FIG. 4F. A small recessbetween the top of the polysilicon in the trench and the substratesurface inherently results when the polysilicon is etched completely toremove all of the polysilicon from the substrate surface. The depth ofthis recess must be controlled so that it does not exceed the depth ofthe n+ source junction that will be formed in a later step. To reducethe need to carefully control this aspect of the process, a relativelydeep n+ source junction is formed, as will be discussed below.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4G, the p− well is formed by implanting thedopant, e.g., a boron implant at an energy of 30 to 100 keV and a dosageof 1E13 to 1E15, and driving it in to a depth of from about 1 to 3 μmusing conventional drive in techniques.

The next two steps (p+ heavy body formation) can be performed eitherbefore formation of the n+ source junction, or afterwards, as indicatedby the arrows in FIG. 3. P+ heavy body formation and n+ source junctionformation can be performed in either order because they are bothresist-masked steps and because there is no diffusion step in between.This advantageously allows significant process flexibility. The p+ heavybody formation steps will be described below as being performed prior tosource formation; it will be understood that n+ source formation couldbe performed first simply by changing the order of the steps discussedbelow.

First, a mask is formed over the areas that will not be doped to p+, asshown in FIG. 4H. (It is noted that this masking step is not required ifthe p+ heavy body is formed later, after the dielectric layer has beenapplied and patterned for contact holes. (see FIG. 4K, below) so thatthe dielectric itself provides a mask.) As discussed above, it ispreferred that the junction at the interface between the p− well and thep+ heavy body be abrupt. To accomplish this, a double implant of dopant(e.g., boron) is performed. For example, a preferred double implant is afirst boron implant at an energy of 150 to 200 keV and a dose of 1E15 to5E15 cm⁻², and a second boron implant at an energy of 20 to 40 keV and adose of 1E14 to 1E15 cm⁻². The high energy first implant brings the p+heavy body as deep as possible into the substrate, so that it will notcompensate the n+ source junction to be introduced later. The second,lower energy/lower dose implant extends the p+ heavy body from the deepregion formed during the first implant up to the substrate surface toprovide the p+ contact 18. The resulting p+ heavy body junction ispreferably about 0.4 to 1 m deep at this stage of the process (finaljunction depth after drive-in is preferably about 0.5 to 1.5 m deep),and includes a region of high dopant concentration near the interfacewith the p− well, and a region of relatively low dopant concentration atthe contact surface of the p+ heavy body. A preferred concentrationdistribution is shown in FIG. 5.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the abruptjunction can be formed in many other ways, e.g., by diffused dopants, byusing a continuous dopant source at the surface or by using atoms thatdiffuse slowly.

After the formation of the p+ heavy body, a conventional resist stripprocess is performed to remove the mask, and a new mask is patterned toprepare the substrate for the formation of the n+ source junction. Thismask is a n+ blocking mask and is patterned to cover the areas of thesubstrate surface which are to provide p+ contacts 18 (FIGS. 1 and 1B),as shown in FIG. 41. This results in the formation of alternating p+ andn+ contacts after n-type doping (see lines A-A and B-B andcross-sectional views A-A and B-B in FIG. 41, which correspond to FIGS.1A and 1B).

The n+ source regions and n+ contact are then formed using a doubleimplant. For example, a preferred double implant process is a firstimplant of arsenic at an energy of 80 to 120 keV and a dose of 5E15 to1E16 cm⁻² followed by a second implant of phosphorus at an energy of 40to 70 keV and a dose of 1E15 to 5E15 cm⁻². The phosphorus implant formsa relatively deep n+ source junction, which allows more processflexibility in the depth of the polysilicon recess, as discussed above.Phosphorus ions will penetrate deeper into the substrate during implantand also during later diffusion steps. Advantageously, the n+ sourceregions will have a depth of about 0.4 to 0.8 m after diffusion. Thearsenic implant extends the n+ source to the substrate surface, and alsoforms the n+ contacts 16 (see FIGS. 1 and 1A) by compensating(converting) the p-type surface of the p+ heavy body to n-type in thedesired contact area. The preferred sheet resistance profiles for the n+source along the edge of the trench, and the n+ contact are shown inFIGS. 5A and 5B, respectively.

Thus, the alternating p+ and n+ contacts 18, 16, shown in FIG. 1 areformed by patterning the substrate with appropriate masks and dopingwith the first p+ implant and the second n+ implant, respectively, asdescribed above. This manner of forming the alternating contactsadvantageously allows an open cell array having a smaller cell pitchthan is typical for such arrays and thus a higher cell density and lowerRds_(on).

Next, a conventional n+ drive is performed to activate the dopants. Ashort cycle is used, preferably 10 min at 900° C., so that activationoccurs without excessive diffusion.

A dielectric material, e.g., borophosphate silicate glass (BPSG), isthen deposited over the entire substrate surface and flowed in aconventional manner (FIG. 4J), after which the dielectric is patternedand etched (FIG. 4K) to define electrical contact openings over the n+and p+ contacts 16, 18.

As noted above, the p+ heavy body implant steps can be performed at thispoint, if desired (rather than prior to n+ source formation),eliminating the need for a mask and thus reducing cost and process time.

Next, the dielectric is reflowed in an inert gas, e.g., a nitrogenpurge. If the p+ body has been implanted immediately prior, this step isrequired to activate the p+ dopant. If the p+ body was implantedearlier, prior to the n+ drive, this step can be omitted if thedielectric surface is sufficiently smooth-edged around the contactopenings.

The cell array is then completed by conventional metalization,passivation deposition and alloy steps, as is well known in thesemiconductor field.

Other embodiments are within the claims. For example, while thedescription above is of an n-channel transistor, the processes of theinvention could also be used to form a p-channel transistor. Toaccomplish this, “p” and “n” would simply be reversed in the abovedescription, i.e., where “p” doping is specified above the region wouldbe “if” doped instead, and visa versa.

1. A method of manufacturing a trench transistor comprising: forming aplurality of trenches defined by a corresponding plurality ofsemiconductor mesas, a height of the plurality of mesas defining a depthof the plurality of trenches, the mesas having dopants of the firstconductivity type; lining each of the plurality of trenches with a thinlayer of gate dielectric material; substantially filling eachdielectric-lined trench with conductive material to form a gateelectrode of the transistor; forming a doped well in the plurality ofmesas to a depth that is less than the depth of the plurality oftrenches, the doped well having dopants of a second conductivity typeopposite to said first conductivity type; forming a source region insidethe doped well and extending to a depth that is less than the depth ofthe well, the source region having dopants of the first conductivitytype; forming a heavy body structure inside the doped well, the heavybody structure including a region having dopants of the secondconductivity type with a peak concentration occurring at a peakconcentration depth below the depth of the source region and above thedepth of the doped well; forming a contact area on the surface of theplurality of mesas; wherein forming a plurality of trenches comprisespatterning and etching the plurality of trenches that extend in parallelalong a longitudinal axis; and wherein the step of forming the contactarea comprises forming a ladder-shaped source contact region surroundingheavy body contact regions.
 2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step offorming the ladder-shaped source contact region surrounding heavy bodycontact regions, comprises: forming a source blocking mask on thesurface of the plurality of mesas patterned to cover the heavy bodycontact regions; and implanting dopants of the first conductivity typeto form the ladder-shaped source contact region.
 3. The method of claim1 wherein the step of forming the ladder-shaped source contact regionsurrounding heavy body contact regions, comprises forming a dielectriclayer on the surface of the plurality of mesas patterned to expose theheavy body contact regions.
 4. A method of manufacturing a trenchtransistor comprising: providing a semiconductor substrate havingdopants of a first conductivity type, the semiconductor substrateincluding a first highly doped drain layer and a second more lightly andsubstantially uniformly doped epitaxial layer atop and adjacent thefirst layer; forming a plurality of trenches extending to a first depthinto the epitaxial layer, the plurality of trenches creating arespective plurality of epitaxial mesas; lining each of the plurality oftrenches with a gate dielectric material; substantially filling eachdielectric-lined trench with conductive material; forming a plurality ofdoped wells in the plurality of epitaxial mesas, respectively, to asecond depth that is less than said first depth of the plurality oftrenches, the plurality of doped wells having dopants of a secondconductivity type opposite to said first conductivity type; forming aplurality of source regions adjacent the plurality of trenches andinside the plurality of doped wells, the source regions having a thirddepth and dopants of the first conductivity type; forming a plurality ofheavy body structures each inside a respective one of the plurality ofdoped wells, each heavy body structure including a region having dopantsof the second conductivity type with a peak concentration occurring at apeak concentration depth below the depth of the source region and abovethe depth of the doped well, whereby, peak electric field is moved awayfrom a nearby trench toward the region having dopants of the secondconductivity type resulting in avalanche current that is substantiallyuniformly distributed.
 5. The method of claim 4 wherein the step offorming the plurality of heavy body structures comprises a doubleimplant process.
 6. The method of claim 5 wherein the double implantprocess comprises: a first implant of dopants of the first conductivitytype, at a first energy level and a first dosage to form a first dopedportion of the heavy body; and a second implant of dopants of the firstconductivity type, at a second energy level and a second dosage to forma second doped portion of the heavy body.
 7. The method of claim 6wherein the first implant occurs at approximately the fourth depth. 8.The method of claim 6 wherein the first energy level is higher than thesecond energy level.
 9. The method of claim 8 wherein the first dosageis higher than the second dosage.
 10. The method of claim 4 wherein thestep of forming the plurality of heavy body structures comprisesimplanting dopants of the second conductivity type at about the peakconcentration depth.